One Hundred Moments
by chinainyourhand
Summary: One hundred prompts, resulting in one hundred stories, each approximately 250 words in length.
1. Introduction

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own the verse, or have any claim to characters. I'm only playing with them, they belong to the genius that is Joss Whedon!  
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_**Authors note:**__ The idea of this is to explore 100 prompts using the firefly/serenity verse. I'm aiming to do 100 250 word ficlets, give or take 10% on the word count. I'm doing this to try and practice a little discipline while writing. I'd love any feedback, good or bad, if anyone out there is reading these! The Chinese used in them is thanks to google translate, so apologies for any mistakes there. I'm a fan of Firefly and the BDM, but haven't read any graphic novels etc., so hopefully these are canon but feel free to correct me if I get anything wrong! I'm trying to include all the characters, but if anyone keeps reading these they may notice the Wash: other character ratio is a bit off…_

_**Spoilers:**__ There will be spoilers for the series and/or the Big Damn Movie in most of these._

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**Prompt 1: Introduction**

"This here's Wash, our pilot, and Kaylee, our mechanic. I've a no fraternising rule, so whichever way you lean, hands off. We eat together, here, and take turns cooking, you do your job, pull your weight, we'll all be one happy family. Questions?"

Jayne's mind was still stuck on the no fraternising portion of the introduction, the captain couldn't think he would do… that… with that _Huángshǔláng. _He looked around the little kitchen he was standing in. It looked nice, homely, a little out of place considering the state of the rest of the ship.

He wasn't full sure of the crew though, the Captain and Zoë looked like they could hold their own but it seemed to him most of his job would be keeping the mechanic and pilot from getting themselves killed. Still, it might be a soft job judging by the crew and the yellow painted kitchen, and he was getting a bunk out of it.

The silence filtered into his thoughts and he realised they were all waiting for a response. "Uh… no. No questions. This seems a nice operation, should be fun!"

Jayne figured that should satisfy them all enough to stop them gawking, but the pilot started talking.

"So… Why Jayne? Did your mother have her eyes closed till she named you?"

Jayne clenched his fists, the pilot had gorram mentioned his ma…

"Little man, don't you ever talk about my mother, less you want to end up even shorter then you are now…"

The pilot showed more speed than Jayne would have credited him with.

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Huángshǔláng – Weasel

Word count - 262


	2. Complicated

**Prompt 2. Complicated**

Keeping Serenity in the sky was complicated, and Kaylee knew even though she got the credit, she couldn't do it on her own.

Each crew member had a part to play in the process, even Jayne. Kaylee kept the engines running, but Wash made the engines take her places. Wash wouldn't have anywhere to take her if Mal didn't come up with jobs. The jobs paid for the engine parts, but they didn't come easy. Jayne and Zoe were needed then to make sure Mal didn't get himself killed, and Zoe made sure he didn't lose himself sometimes.

In all of this, Simon kept the crew together physically, patching them up and sending them out again, and Book kept them together mentally. He was their conscience, and hell, he was almost their shrink, Even if no-one else but Kaylee knew it.

The only member Kaylee couldn't place in this big circle process of keeping Serenity flying, where she should be, was River.

River, she was complicated too. Just like Serenity. But Kaylee thought she fit, just the same. She was sure River had a part in the process, even if she wasn't needed just now. She would be, Kaylee knew it. Serenity attracted useful people. It was because of her soul, Kaylee thought. Useful people felt her soul.

She knew boats didn't have souls. They were metal, held together, in Serenity's case, mostly by luck and love.

But all the same, she knew Serenity had one. She was different. She was complicated.

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Word count: 252


	3. Making History

**Prompt 3. Making History**

Serenity was back in the black, flying straight, but she wasn't the same. She was missing parts of her crew, and those still there, well, Mal knew they were broken. Even those without a scratch were broken. Chances were they'd never be the same after everything they saw and everyone they lost.

He didn't even know where Zoe was, hadn't seen her since they'd finished the burial. River was flying his gorram ship, who'd have thought that would happen. Well, she was watching the autopilot fly the ship, but she had been flying it, while he watched.

Kaylee and Simon were… somewhere, he didn't like to think too long on where, which left him with Jayne. He figured Jayne would have come out the best, figured he'd be closest to fixed, but now, when he was face to face with the man, he reckoned he'd figured wrong.

"Cap'n, people are going to know… yeh? They'll know what we did here? What happened, what the Alliance…? They'll know? This wasn't all for nothing?"

The man looked the closest to broke that Mal had ever seen.

"Yeh Jayne, I don't reckon there's a power in the 'verse that could cover this up, We did good. We all did good."

"Mal, I don't think… If it's for nothing… If he… If they… for nothing… I don't think I could…"

"I know Jayne. Me neither. We'll make sure they make it into the songs and stories. And we'll make sure they call him Wash, not Hoban… He'd have hated that…"

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Word Count: 256


	4. Rivalry

**Prompt 4. Rivalry**

"Your husband is an idiot."

Zoe smiled at the man lying prone in the infirmary.

"Yes sir, but he's my idiot. It's good to see you awake."

Simon made his way over to them, and started examining Mal and taking readings.

"You shouldn't really be talking Captain, just rest up."

Mal laughed, then winced as pain shot through his body.

"Oh no, I've been telling her for years her husband is an idiot, she's never agreed till now, don't dope me up Doc, I need to hear the rest of this."

Simon rolled his eyes, but put down the syringe he had been preparing. Zoe rolled her eyes, took Mal's hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

"It is good to see you awake sir, my idiot reckons you kept him alive down there, reckons you goaded him into surviving. Like I said he's an idiot but he's mine, so thank you sir. Thank you."

Mal was surprised to see a tear leaking out of the corner of her eye, but said nothing about it. He supposed, given what he recalled from the last few days, she was allowed a few cracks in her usual armour. He decided to try to lighten the mood.

"One question, where'd the aggro come from? I always thought me and Wash were OK?"

It backfired, more tears flowed.

"He knows I love him more than you sir, but he thinks I like you more than him, thinks I value your judgement more than his."

"Do you?"

"I don't know sir…"

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Word Count: 256


	5. Unbreakable

**Prompt 5. Unbreakable**

River was yelling again. Mal had figured he was used to the crazy by now but this was a new type of crazy, this was spooky. Simon was trying to quiet her, but he was getting nowhere, she was only getting louder and more frantic.

"You can be broken. Your brain, your heart, they're in one piece, scratched, torn, sometimes cracked, but still in one piece. Still breakable. It's going to be my fault when you break. When they all break. I'll lead you all to be broken. I'll bring you, bring you to break. To splinter, some will splinter into thousands of pieces, they'll never be whole again. Some will disappear, gone, dark. No one will be the same, everyone breaks and it's my fault, all my fault. I'm unbreakable, they broke me into too many small pieces, I can't break anymore, pieces are too small, functioning on their own, not as a whole, but you can, you will, you'll be smashed into a thousand pieces, because of me, the unbreakable one will break the universe. "

Simon was holding her, his arms wrapped around her trying to break through whatever had a hold of her, so when she suddenly stopped and sank to the floor sobbing uncontrollably he was pulled down with her.

An unnerving silence settled, broken only by Rivers sobs. No one was expecting Mal to break the eerie calm.

"I changed my mind Simon, morbid and creepifying is not OK anymore…"

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Word Count 247


	6. Obsession

**Prompt 6. Obsession**

"It's weird!"

Kaylee giggled quietly, she loved these rare, peaceful moments, between jobs, where she and Simon could just talk. Sometimes Simon's conversation topics were not what she would have picked, but she listened anyway, and just enjoyed the sound of his voice.

"I mean, he has names for them Kaylee. He looks after them better then he would a pet, he has spots in his rack for each one, cleans them, maintains them, he even talks to them! Has full conversations with them, as if he's expecting them to talk back!"

She felt she had to intervene here, to defend her shipmate.

"Well, each and every one of us on this boat has something odd we do to keep us going. I talk to the engines, Wash has his dinosaurs…"

"But you and Wash know they're not going to talk back, you know they're inanimate objects… I sometimes think Jayne really believes Vera is alive… It's unhealthy Kaylee, as ships physician I feel I should step in, help him take the first steps back to reality."

Kaylee laughed out loud, the image of Simon counselling Jayne was just too funny to ignore.

"Well you can try and talk to him about it, but maybe wait till we pull off the next job, get paid and get to restock the infirmary, might be safer, tryin' to tell him Vera aint gonna appreciate his lovin' will get you nowhere Simon, will get you nothing but pain…"

Simon sat back down, looking defeated.

"Maybe so, but it's still weird."

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Word Count: 257


	7. Eternity

**Prompt 7. Eternity**

"He asked you to do what now?"

"Marry him, Sir, he asked me to marry him."

Zoe thought Mal looked as if he was having a heart attack and a stroke at the same time, he had definitely gone an odd shade of purple. He managed to keep his voice relatively calm though, even if he was speaking through gritted teeth.

"You said no though…?"

"Why would I do that Sir?"

"Well Zoe, marriage is forever, it's a big commitment. You think a man who still plays with toys can make that sorta commitment?"

"Yes Sir, I do, I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't think he was the man I would marry, have babies with, grow old with, be buried with and spend eternity with in heaven or hell or wherever we might end up, Sir."

"Have babies… grow old… heaven? Zoe, are we talking about the same man here? Is it another Wash I don't know about? Because I'm sure our Wash lost a plastic dinosaur the other day, how's he gonna manage a baby? Hell, where are you going to have these babies? On serenity? They'd fall off the walkways, get stuck in the engines… No, it won't work. I'm ordering you to say no."

"Too late Sir, I've already agreed, I don't go back on my word. Besides, It's not really within your remit as a Captain to make orders about who I do or do not marry, Sir."

Mal slumped against the bulkhead in defeat. Six Sirs in two minutes meant he had no hope of arguing this one.

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Word count 265

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_Authors note: a HUGE thanks to my reviewers, Lismrox and Timbegirl, It's always nice to know someone is enjoying these! _


	8. Gateway

**Prompt 8. Gateway**

Wash would always remember the first boat he took into the black solo. That experience was one that would stay with a man till he moved on from this world. The feeling of exhilaration as the boat breaks atmo, and flies on into never ending space, guided only by the hands of the pilot gently picking out safe paths and quick routes.

Since then Wash had good trips and bad trips, boring trips and trips he would never forget, boats he loved and boats he felt nothing for, but could only name one boat he felt owned a piece of his soul.

The first time he had set foot on the loading ramp of Serenity, he knew he was going to stay with her forever. There was just something about the way she looked, smelled, felt and gently hummed that he loved.

When he stepped into her little bridge and saw his domain, his home, he knew his fate was sealed. It was dark, pokey and littered with broken wires and equipment, but he felt like it was home, he knew this was the boat he would live and die on.

It didn't matter to Wash that the captain was a might overbearing, and rubbed him up the wrong way, it didn't matter that the (amazing, warrior woman) first officer was visibly repulsed by him and it didn't matter that the engineer spent more time admiring himself in the mirror then he did working, Wash knew he had found the gateway to the rest of his life, and that was all that mattered.

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Word count: 263


	9. Death

**Prompt 9. Death**

As Wash climbed into the bunk he shared with Zoe, he knew something was off. He was usually the last one into bed, as he always ran checks and made sure that they were on a course clear of any danger before he retired for the night. Most nights, Zoe would roll over and smile at him as he got in, then snuggle into him, even if she was asleep, it was such a habit at this stage.

Tonight, she was still as a stone, with her back to him, breathing just a little too deeply and rhythmically to be natural. Wash knew she was pretending to sleep in order to avoid a conversation, and Wash was OK with that. Zoe had a process for grieving that she worked through best on her own. He knew all he could do was not pressure her, and be there when she was ready to talk.

He had lifted them off from St. Alban's only a few hours ago, and hadn't seen Zoe since. Mal had hit the bottle in the lounge with Jayne and the Doc, which was his process. But Zoe had gone to her bunk to be alone.

As Wash slid himself under the blanket, trying not to disturb his wife, he was surprised when she turned to him. He could see the unshed tears glistening in the light shining through the crack between the hatch and the frame.

"Honey, I'm sorry you had to -"

"Wash, he threatened you, I'd do it over and over again in a heartbeat."

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Word Count: 260


	10. Oppertunities

**Prompt 10. Opportunities**

Mal sometimes thought he was the only one on the Gorram boat with a brain. The whole crew were whinging about going to Whitefall and dealing with Patience. Just 'cos of one itty bitty little gunshot, which had resulted from a legitimate disagreement.

What they just didn't understand was that opportunities didn't grow on trees. Badger had left them to hang with the stamped cargo, and while he may have neglected to mention it was stamped to the crew at large, they couldn't see why it was so difficult to get rid of.

They thought Mal could just use his magic buyer finding powers and offload it at a huge profit on a nice, safe planet that had a low risk of getting shot at.

They thought he was just playing up to the death wish they were all under the impression he had.

What they didn't realise was that Mal didn't like dealing with Patience any more than they did, hell, probably even less, it was him that got shot last time. But if they didn't offload the cargo, and didn't get a payload, or worse got caught with it by the alliance, well, they'd be griping about that to, and worse.

Mal was the only one who truly appreciated that even though Patience was crooked, bitter and money-grabbing, she was the only buyer who'd pay up for the less than kosher cargo they had acquired, and so she was their only option if they wanted to eat that month.

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Word count: 251


End file.
